Chapter 767 - Follow-Up Interview Report on the Wager

Laila signed her name on the documents with her head lowered and casually said, "He wants me to take over the remaining two Batman movies."

"What?!" Louise almost choked on her saliva. "How could he?" Such a ridiculous idea?

"I don't know either." Laila shrugged, pushing the matter to the back of her mind. Anyway, she felt she had made her refusal clear enough.

Louise looked at her for a moment, seeing that she had no intention of accepting, then relaxed. "Indeed, you can't accept. We haven't even finished shooting our own movies, how could we possibly help others?"

Hearing her words, Laila knew what she was worried about and couldn't help but laugh. "Don't worry, I won't let the company's investment go to waste. Do you still not trust me?"

Louise blushed, remembering her previous concerns about The Lord of the Rings box office, and felt she had been overly anxious all along. Clearly, they had such a boss who could take the company into the fast lane, yet she was always worried about whether the car would overturn, which was unbecoming.

"Of course, I trust you!" Making so much from the first movie, who knew how much more she would make from the next two? Thinking back to her hesitation in buying the rights to this book initially, she now felt she had been too cautious. No wonder Phoenix Films had faltered under her management. As a leader, having foresight was indeed crucial.

Looking at the rights Laila had bought for her, she might not necessarily make a lot of money from each one, but making money from all of them was a certainty. Works like Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings have created miraculous box office figures. Just thinking about how many more rights they had bought for their movies made her heart race uncontrollably. How much revenue would those rights bring to the company when they were all turned into movies? Just thinking about it could drive someone crazy!

Meanwhile, on Nolan's side, when the representatives of the production company saw him return dejectedly, they knew he had been rejected. In fact, it was such a straightforward matter that only this director with an active imagination would come up with the idea that Laila could be invited.

After a few comforting words from the representatives, they left, not taking the matter seriously. There could be disappointment only if there was hope. Since they never thought it was possible in the first place, there was no room for disappointment.

They left in a relaxed manner, but Nolan appeared very disappointed. He felt that if he could let Laila direct Batman, she would make this superhero the most prominent figure in film history. But he had to admit that what she said made sense. As the boss of Marvel, she had no reason to help a competitor create a superhero for their enemy.

Just thinking about his aborted idea made him deeply regretful.

"Christopher, what's wrong with you?"

A voice came into his ears, bringing him back from his thoughts.

"Christian, what do you think about having Moran direct the sequels to Batman?"

Christian Bale was startled by his idea. "How is that possible?"

"Why not?" Nolan asked. "Just because she's the boss of Marvel and not DC?"

"Of course, there's a reason for it here," Christian said, knowing he could still make sense of it, realizing that his earlier words were just his thoughts. "It's good that you understand. Whatever your reasons for having such thoughts, it's impossible to achieve. And why would you want someone else to take over your film?"

"I feel like you've really captured Batman. You know? On the premiere day, a kid hugged me, calling me Batman, and at that moment, I knew I hadn't made a wrong decision. It's great to be able to take on this script!"

"Thank you, Christian," Nolan smiled at him. "I also think it's great to have you play Batman. But you don't know her abilities! We talked for a long time yesterday and inspired by her, I immediately made significant changes to the script I'd been working on for a long time. Previously, I thought the script was decent, and that we could make a good movie out of it. But after talking to her, I realized how flawed the script was, full of holes."

"Christopher, you can't just hand it over to someone else because you think you can't make a good movie. Why not make yourself do better? You said yourself that your conversation with her brought a lot of insights. Why not use those insights for the next two Batman movies?"

Christian's words were serious and persuasive, but unfortunately, Nolan didn't listen to his advice at all. At this moment, he was completely trapped in his thoughts. In his conversation with Laila, he encountered film concepts that would only come to fruition in the future. Those viewpoints were refreshing to him, like the gates of a new world being pushed open.

So he wanted to witness firsthand how she directed films, to learn more from her. He didn't mind being an assistant director under her, he just hoped to give himself a learning opportunity. The current Batman was the most suitable choice. Yesterday, when they discussed this series, they had similar interpretations of Batman's dark, realistic style.

He hoped for her to take over, not just on a whim, but because he was sure she could take Batman to new heights once she did.

"Why is she the boss of Marvel?" Why is Batman specifically a DC superhero?

"Well..." Christian didn't know how to comfort him. How Marvel conducted its business was up to them, and what could outsiders like them say about it? "Alright, let's not dwell on that. How about focusing on some fresh news instead? Let's check out our movie; the box office this week is still doing great."

He pulled out today's newspaper from where it was lying and had a quick read. He already knew that there were comments on the latest box office performance of "Batman Begins" in the entertainment section, and they were all positive.

Nolan took the newspaper and unfolded it with little enthusiasm. At first glance, he didn't see any reports about his movie's box office performance, but he saw an interview with Michael Bay, the director of "Transformers," with the subtitle clearly stating that he had officially signed with Moran's agency.

Seeing Laila's name mentioned, he immediately became alert and carefully read on.

Many people still remember that a year ago, Laila and Michael Bay had made a deal that if her movie's box office beat Michael's, he would sign with her agency.

Now that a year had passed, the box office success of "The Lord of the Rings" was well known, and the outcome of their agreement was the main topic of this interview.

"Yes, I have officially signed with Moran's agency," Michael Bay replied to such questions with immunity, no longer as resistant as he was at the beginning.